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Monday, May 7, 2018

Happy Mother’s Day! Or at least it will be in a few days. So
consider this your reminder so that you can plan something special for your mom
before the Primary kids start singing their songs in Sacrament Meeting this
Sunday. As for this post, I’ve put together a list of a few wonderful TV moms that
were total rock stars. With all the parent/child drama on TV, take comfort in
these solid TV moms.

She changed a lot since her first encounter

Yuuko Kamiya
(Digimon)

She appeared in all three Digimon adventure series. She was
a bit clueless to the kids’ adventures in Seasons 1 and 2, but in the Digimon
Adventure Tri movies (released 2015-2016), she was shown to be supportive of
her two Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon partners. While everyone else in
Tokyo was panicking about the Digimon attacks, Yuuko kept a calm head, trusting
her kids and their friends to take care of all the attacks. Just like in the
Season 2 finale, she displayed faith in the Digi-Destined and her only concern
was making sure the kids and the Digimon had enough food.

Talk about character development

Regina Mills (Once
Upon a Time)

She adopted Henry to fill a void in her heart caused by
killing her father and spent the next ten years faking who she was. Before her
redemption arc (seasons 1-3) she was kind of a poor mother, in many respects,
but by the end of Season 3 she had redeemed herself to the Charmings and to her
son, enough that by Season 7 she was purely a hero focused on helping Henry on
his adventures. She dropped everything in Storybrooke to be with her son and
help him succeed. Also, as shown in “Is This Henry Mills?” (episode 7.20, so spoiler alert, guys) she
displayed great faith in her son by trusting him to make very big, important
decisions about his future, even though it eventually meant him leaving the
realm itself.

So much sass

Shirley Bennett
(Community)

When the series began, Shirley was the recently divorced
single mother of two young children. The thing I respect the most about her is that
instead of wallowing in her husband’s betrayal and the subsequent divorce,
Shirley did what she had to take control of her life and eventually care for
her kids. Fast forward, she ended up re-marrying her husband, but her drive to
create a better life for her kids is one of the things I find most admirable
about her.

Not above sassing the Doctor

Jackie Tyler (Doctor
Who)

Her daughter Rose left with the Ninth Doctor and flew off
into the night for at least two adventures before returning to London a year
later. Even after her daughter had been missing a year, Jackie reluctantly let
her daughter fly around time and space with an unknown man. She was the first mother
of a companion to be featured and she did not disappoint. Naturally she’d go
crazy, with her daughter missing for a year, but her faith in and love for her
daughter was unwavering, even to the point of moving to a parallel universe to
be with her daughter.

Back before she was Belle

Claire Littleton
(Lost)

The reluctant single mother crash-landed on the Island
eight-months pregnant. The thing I love most about her is that in the three
seasons that she mothered Aaron, she stepped up to the job. Sure, Sun and
Charlie and others helped out, but from the moment her son was born, she held
on tight. So going from putting him up for adoption, to becoming the Island
crazy-lady when he was kidnapped, I have to respect Claire for never giving up
as a mother.

Will she return again? Spoilers ;)

Dinah Lance (Arrow)

She’s only appeared in seven episodes of Arrow, but I’ve
been rewatching the show lately and certain aspects of her character really
impress me in Seasons 1 and 2. First of all, it’s not exactly clear how or why
she left her husband, but it’s implied that it happened after Quentin started
his binge-drinking after Sara’s apparent death. So I have to respect Dinah for
(presumably) getting out of a bad situation with an alcoholic and moving on
with her life. I also love her faith in Season 1 that Sara was alive. Really,
it was probably just blind faith because Oliver had returned to civilization,
but her blind faith paid off when Sara returned in Season 2.

Who are your favorite TV moms? What’s the best surprise you
ever made for your mom for Mother’s Day?

Monday, April 30, 2018

“Infinity War” has been out less than a week and of course
people are already theorizing about the sequel Avengers film coming out next
year. We were previously told that Avengers 4’s title was a spoiler for “Infinity
War”. Now that it’s premiered, let’s theorize what the next movie will be
called. As such, there will be spoilers
ahead. So between talking to my brother and looking around the internet,
here are some ideas I came up with.

Avengers:
Disassembled

The “Avengers” roster kind of exploded during this movie
with the Guardians, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man. And then at
the end of the movie these pseudo-Avengers were literally “disassembled”. So it
would make sense that a large part of this next movie would be about bringing
these heroes back into existence. Even the remaining heroes are “disassembled”;
between physical distance (Nebula and Iron Man on Titan), emotional distance
(after “Civil War”), or just not knowing each other (Rocket and the Wakandans),
there isn’t much pulling these characters together. So between pulling our
remaining heroes together and bringing our dissolved heroes back, “Disassembled”
could be a valid title.

Avengers Reassemble

Similar to “Disassembled”, this would focus the movie on
bringing our heroes, dead and alive, together in order to put the universe back
in order and stop Thanos once and for all. The difference here would be the
theme and focus of the movie. Someone pointed out to me that (assuming Hawkeye
is still alive), all six of our original Avengers survived Thanos’s snap. As I previously
pointed out, the Civil War and the distance of space have torn them apart. As a
result, just as they had to put aside their differences and assemble in “The
Avengers”, it’ll be time for our heroes to pull together and fight back against
Thanos’s forces, just like before.

Avengers: End Game

My brother reminded me that Doctor Strange saw millions of
outcomes of their battle with Thanos. Only one resulted in their victory. I had
originally thought Star-Lord messed up their one shot, but it hadn’t occurred
to me that our mystical surgeon foresaw Quill losing his cool and giving the Time
Stone to Thanos. That would mean that this is all part of the plan. Doctor
Strange straight up said that “this
is the end game”. Avengers 4 is “this” and it is likely all part of the end
game that Stephen Strange predicted.

The Last Avengers

As noted before, five of the original six Avengers are
confirmed alive. These “last Avengers” will inevitably play a key role in
returning the world to normal. We also know that this will be the last movie
for a number of our key players, giving the title another meaning, as it will
be the last Avengers movie. This title also hearkens back to Captain America’s
first movie “The First Avenger”. It would be very fitting for the phase three finale
to have a title that mirrors our earliest hero.

The New Avengers

Just as our original Avengers have their finale in Avengers
4 (one way or another), it would make sense for a new team of heroes to fill
their shoes. I’m not familiar with the comics, but I know there’s a team call “The
New Avengers”. Among their ranks are some of our Phase Three heroes, Luke Cage
(from Netflix), Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Iron Fist (also from Netflix),
Mockingbird (from Agents of SHIELD), and many others. We also have a couple
characters previously owned by Fox, Wolverine and The Thing. I have little
confidence we’d see any of the Netflix heroes or X-Men in Avengers 4, but we’ll
be seeing more of them in one form or another. So at the same time we’ll retire
Captain America and Iron Man, we could very easily get a new team with
Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.

What did you think of “Infinity War”? Any theories for
Avengers 4? Don’t forget we still have “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and “Captain
Marvel” to be released before then. How do you think they will play into the
sequel?

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

I know this game has been out for a while, but since I've been playing so much of it lately I figured I'd toss my two cents into the hat.

Marvel Puzzle Quest is a Candy Crush clone complete with the micro-payment extravaganza that has been plaguing modern games like tuberculosis, but with the difference being that Marvel Puzzle Quest isn't pay-to-win, it's grind-to-win.

The grind-to-win model is a response to the play-to-win issue of course, that response being "Alright if you don't want to give us money then you're jolly well going to give us as much of your time as you possibly can and jolly well like it!" The big question is if the grinding is worth it?

In a word... Yes?

So the hook of the game is that you build a team of your favorite Marvel characters with their different powers that damage an opposing team of characters and the drop downs trigger damage and different abilities. This functions remarkably well, since the drop down gameplay is proven to be a great game mechanic in the free to play market. The game features a good 100+ characters to mess around with, from the well known and overused Wolverine to the lesser known like Moonstone and 800 versions of Black Widow for some reason.
Now let's say there's a character or characters that you would love to have because you think they're just the bees knees, either for gameplay or because you have all their comics, like Iron Fist. Well good luck unlocking them because the characters are behind an unlock wall that spits out a random character once you've ground long enough to be welcomed in for a try. Usually you'd just get more of the special currency that helps you occasionally level up your characters and is good for nothing else or endless copies of characters too weak to use or too useless to care about.

If you're fine with paying then the funds aren't much help, since all money will get you is more opportunities to try your luck at the spandex lottery. To add insult to injury the price for these spins increases the more you buy, either with the special and hard to get in-game currency it takes to open them or with that hard-earned cash, so the game fights you at every turn to get the guys you want.

Now I said that the grind is worth it with a question mark, and that's because if you do put in the grind which is usually playing a few games every 3-4 hours, you can start unlocking about a character every few days. This doesn't seem like much, but the drop-down gameplay is still entertaining and the wonky comic book stories they come up with is still enjoyable enough to have it on your phone with few regrets.

Pros: Visuals, gameplay, and eventually playing your favorite Marvel characters.

Friday, March 30, 2018

"Did you honestly think that
by all this you could save the human traitor? You are giving me your life and
saving no one. So much for love." --The White Witch (The Lion, the Witch,
and the Wardrobe 2005 movie)

How often do you hear this lie
from Satan in regard to the Atonement? How often does he tell you that you
'wasted" the Savior's blood? It's never wasted. The Atonement is always
available to save you. And no matter which side you choose, Satan will lose and
Christ will win.

I have to wonder what lies Satan
told the Savior as He suffered in Gethsemane, as He mocked that night, and as
He crucified on Calvary. I imagine it was similar to what the Witch said to
Aslan. “So much for love.”
I can see Satan whispering to the Savior as He kneeled in Gethsemane, “You are
in so much pain and yet they won’t repent. They’re mine anyway. You’re wasting
your time. You are suffering and killing Yourself for no good reason.”

I think he also tells each of us the
same lies. “You have gone too far. You can’t repent now. It’s too late. You
might as well give up. Christ suffered for you and you’ve gone too far; you’ve
wasted His blood.”

Narnia has been one of my
favorites for years! Aslan being a type of Christ has taught me so much about
the Atonement, from something as commonly understood as Aslan sacrificing
himself to save Edmund from the White Witch (The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe), to something as intimate for me as Aslan quietly protect Shasta (The
Horse and His Boy).

Like Edmund, we have all made
mistakes, betrayed those we love, told lies, gotten angry, and said things we
didn’t mean. Like Edmund, we have all felt guilt and remorse for those
mistakes. And (hopefully) like Edmund, that remorse has pushed us toward
humility and repentance in order to make amends for what we’ve done.

Look forward to more Narnia
posts. I’ve been hoping to do them for a long while and now it’s just time!

Saturday, March 17, 2018

This week we got our trailer for the “Fantastic Beasts”
sequel: “The Crimes of Grindewald”. As JK Rowling’s wizarding world continues
to expand, we get more and more glimpses into the pre-Harry Potter era of it
all. Seven books and nine movies in, we’re probably only scratching the
surface. But from what we know, here are a few things I’d like to see in this
next movie (or at least by the end of the Fantastic Beasts series). WARNING: Spoilers from the new Fantastic
Beasts trailer.

Hagrid and Aragog:
Likely not in this movie, but seeing as the Fantastic Beasts movies are said to
span 19 years (1926-1945), there’s a chance we could see Hagrid meet Aragog. As
we met a new awkward friend fond of magical creatures, it’s not unreasonable to
think that Newt is the one who gives Aragog to Hagrid. If the Chamber of
Secrets was opened by Tom Riddle in the early 40s, we still have plenty of time
for the Big Friendly Half-Giant to appear.

Voldemort’s
Beginnings: Not that we necessarily need backstory on Voldemort (since “The
Chamber of Secrets” and “The Half-Blood Prince” already basically did that) but
it would be interesting to see glimpses or cameos of Voldemort’s past as the
war against Grindewald happens. Presumably Tom Riddle Jr would be in the orphanage
for the first half of the “Fantastic Beasts” series, so a cameo could be
possible, but perhaps not probable.

Newt’s Backstory:
We got glimpses into Newt’s past with the first “Fantastic Beasts” movie, but I
don’t think it’d be unreasonable to see his flashbacks of his time at Hogwarts.
Maybe learn why he was expelled (and why he got to keep his wand?) and maybe
learn a bit about Leta Lestrange. Especially since the trailer makes it look
like we’re visiting Hogwarts, it wouldn’t be too crazy for Newt to have a few
flashbacks.

Newt’s Future: To
contrast my last comment, it would be interesting (more just for the fun of it)
to see a “flashforward” for Newt at the end of the last movie. Maybe show that
the “Fantastic Beasts” series was him or his son telling Newt’s grandkids or
great-grandkids about his adventures. Maybe even get Evanna Lynch to reprise
her role as Luna Lovegood, as she marries Newt’s grandson.

Dumbledore’s History:
From the trailer, we know we’re supposed to see Dumbledore. Since the series is
supposed to end around the time that Dumbledore defeats Grindewald (can’t remember
if we’re supposed to see that battle or not) it would be likely that we’ll at
least get some dialogue about the Dumbledore and Grindewald families (if not flashbacks).
It could be controversial to show a romance between Dumbledore and Grindewald,
but I think we can at least expect to see their friendship addressed.

What other tidbits from the “Harry Potter” books would you
like to see in the “Fantastic Beasts” movies? Any characters revealed by JK
Rowling that you’d like to see younger cameos from? Maybe a young McGonagall.
That’d be cool. Granted, she’d only be 10 by the end of the series, but still.

Friday, March 9, 2018

So after watching all of Classic Doctor Who over the past
two and a half years (and writing about it for two years) I’m finally at Modern
Doctor Who! So without further ado, here’s my first Doctor: Christopher
Eccleston.

Series 1

The show regenerated

Top Story: Bad
Wolf/The Parting of the Ways

It was really a hard choice between the finale and “The
Empty Child”/“The Doctor Dances” for top choice. In fact in my first draft of
this post, I picked it. But I wanted to choice the two-part finale, because of its
firsts. This was the first time since the Key to
Time series that Doctor Who had an overall story for the season, instead of
just individual adventures. Through the season “Bad Wolf” popped up occasionally
and then got resolved in the finale. This trend has continued through Modern
Doctor Who, ever since. It was also the first modern regeneration, so we gotta
enjoy the introduction of David Tennant.

Flop Story: Boom Town

It was this or “The Long Game”. However, this story was just
unnecessary. I have no issue with the Slitheen. Considering that Doctor Who was
bound to have poor special effects on its first season back, of course the aliens
were going to be weird. But their original story and their reprisal in “The
Sarah Jane Adventures” were good. This was just an unnecessary revival of a
supposedly dead character, just to have a story.

"Run!"

Honorable Mention: Rose

This is how new Doctor stories need to be. What the Eighth
Doctor movie did wrong was assuming that viewers knew the Doctor, knew
regeneration, and knew the TARDIS. In this story, we learn about the Doctor and
the TARDIS as Rose does, making it easier for new viewers. This was repeated to
some extent with Martha and Bill, making easy points for new viewers to come in
without committing to 20+ years of Doctor Who before getting caught up. Granted
the Autons were odd, but it was a nice throwback to the old Third Doctor villain.
Since the show is 50+ years old now, it needs stories like this to bring in new
blood.

COMPANIONS:

RoseRose - (10th
Doctor)

AdamDalek - The
Long Game

JackThe Empty
Child - The Parting of the Ways

Favorite Companion:
It seems like Rose gets a lot of flack from the fanbase, but I like her.
Granted, she and the Ninth Doctor were my first pair I ever saw together consistently
(I started with “Blink” and then went back) but this pair worked together. Rose
had the character development that I’d want for all companions. She went from working
in retail to saving the universe and even matching wits with the Doctor a few
times. To be fair, I would have preferred she kept her ending at the end of
Series 2 with the Tenth Doctor, but I enjoyed seeing her return in Series 4, so
I can’t complain.

Least Favorite
Companion: Adam. Just Adam. I don’t know anyone in the fanbase who likes
Adam. He hitched a ride in 2012, went to the future, and then got thrown out back
at home. We all like to forget about Adam, but he was an unfortunate side
effect of time travel I suppose. Above all else, he sucked because he was the
one companion to use traveling in the TARDIS for personal gain (unless you
count Turlough working for the Black Guardian). He did get some “redemption” in
the 50th Anniversary comic series called “Prisoners of Time”, but regardless
he’s still down low on my list of companions. ALL companion (even including Adric).

What was your favorite Ninth Doctor story? You did watch the
Ninth Doctor right? We don’t skip Nine here. So go watch Nine. Now. Just go.

I was once told that Colin Baker wanted the Sixth Doctor to have this outfit. Tough luck.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

So back when I started
my Marvel Cinematic Universe posts, ABC was part-way into Season 2 of
“Agent Carter”. At that point, I had no way of watching Season 1 to catch up
for Season 2. Recently I learned that Hulu had both seasons available. So as
I’ve been binging the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe (everything: movies,
Netflix shows, network shows, etc.) I worked “Agent Carter” into it all. So now
that I’ve watched both seasons, it’s time to backtrack and cover Agent Peggy
Carter’s adventures.

Agent Carter: Season
1 (Episodes 1-8)

Season 1 follows Peggy and Edwin Jarvis trying to clear
Howard Stark’s name. Meanwhile, Peggy needs to maintain her job at the SSR
where she’s constantly undermined. So here we go.

Now is Not the
End: In 1946, Peggy maintains her cover while working at the SSR. The SSR
investigates Howard after his inventions get stolen. Howard asks Peggy to help
clear his name. Jarvis helps Peggy recover Nitramene, ahead of the SSR. Jarvis
and Peggy narrowly escape the implosion of Roxxon.

Bridge and Tunnel:
The SSR investigates the explosion at Roxxon. Peggy and Jarvis confront
Brannis about the Nitramene. He dies in a conflict with a man in a green suit.
Peggy finds a new place to stay.

The Iron Ceiling: In
1937, the Red Room trains assassins. Dottie steals Peggy’s room key. The Remote
Typewriter leaves a message at the SSR. Peggy translates it and recruits the 107th
regiment to help the SSR. The SSR and the Howling Commandos infiltrate the Red
Room. They bring Ivchenko back with them. Dooley questions Jarvis about Howard
and Finow.

A Sin to Err: Peggy
and Jarvis try to track down a Red Room spy. Sousa investigates Peggy. Dottie
and Ivchenko infiltrate the SSR. The SSR goes after Peggy. Peggy tries to
escape but Dottie knocks her out.

Valediction: The
SSR investigates the theater massacre. Howard gets captured by
Ivchenko/Fennhoff, who hypnotizes Howard to drop the Midnight Oil (Item 17) on
New York. Peggy breaks Howard out of his trance. Dottie escapes and Fennhoff is
taken into custody.

Random Trivia/Connections:

The opening scenes of “Now is Not the End” recap Captain
America’s “death” in “The
First Avenger”.

Soviet scientist Anton Vanko appears in “Now is Not the
End”. His son becomes the main villain in “Iron
Man 2”.

The Red Room appears in “The Iron Celing”, which is where
Black Widow says in “Age
of Ultron” that she was trained.

Armin Zola, who appeared in “The First Avenger” and “The
Winter Soldier” appears in prison with Fennhoff in “Valediction”.

Thoughts:

The first season of Agent Carter was unsettling for me, but
in a productive way. In a smaller way, it was like “Black Panther” and the
discussion of racism. Taking place in the 40s, Peggy wasn’t exactly treated
well by her male colleagues. It was unsettling (and probably understated
compared to the real 1940s). It was a perfect opportunity for me to evaluate
how I treat the women in my life. I also liked the mini-series format. About
the time I’d start getting bored, the climax of the season happened.

A View in the
Dark: The Council of Nine infuriates Chadwick. Peggy and Sousa investigate
Isodyne Energy. Wilkes tells Peggy about Zero Matter. Wilkes and Peggy steal
Zero Matter. In a confrontation, the Zero Matter absorbs Wilkes and infects
Whitney Frost.

Better Angels:
Wilkes is framed as a communist spy by Frost. Peggy tries to spy on the Council
of Nine. Thompson tries to bring Peggy back to New York. Sousa discovers Forst
is scientist Agnes Cully. Peggy and Howard discover Wilkes stuck in the Zero
Matter. Frost sends an assassin to kill Peggy after a confrontation. Thompson
meets Chadwick. Frost accidentally kills her director.

Life of the Party:
Peggy and Sousa try to stop Wilkes from disappearing. They recruit Dottie’s
help. Dottie and Jarvis go after Frost, who meets with the Council of Nine.
Frost kills half the Council, including Chadwick. Thompson captures Dottie.

A Little Song and
Dance: Thompson, Samberly, and Sousa steal an SSR car. Peggy and Jarvis
escape Frost and steal a truck. Thompson tries to double-cross Frost. Thompson
tries to detonate a bomb on Frost. Wiles confronts Frost.

Hollywood Ending:
Frost absorbs the Zero Matter. Manfredi teams up with Stark, Peggy, and
Jarvis.The team uses the Gamma Cannon
to separate Frost from the Zero Matter. Jarvis uses the hovercar to close the
rift. In the aftermath, Peggy starts a relationship with Sousa.

The Darkforce Dimension (where Zero Matter originates) is
part of the Multiverse introduced in “Doctor Strange”.

Sousa’s fiancée Violet was portrayed by “Sarah Bolger”, who
also played Princess Aurora on “Once Upon a Time”. Aurora was similarly caught
in a love triangle.

Though the series ended with Sousa and Peggy in a
relationship, it is unlikely that Peggy married Sousa. As stated in “The Winter
Soldier”, Peggy’s unnamed husband was saved by Captain America in “The First
Avenger”.

Thoughts:

I enjoyed Season 2 less than the first. Maybe it was because
of the extra two episodes? Maybe it was less action? I’m not sure. There was
also less of Peggy forcing herself to be assertive as a woman. Other than an episode
with her backstory, there was less development with Peggy’s character.

Thoughts on Agent Carter? Probably would have been good to
have the series wrapped up a little nicer, but at least each season was a
self-contained story. As a result, other than Peggy’s husband, I don’t see any
loose ends to be concerned about. Overall, good mini-series.